AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I also meant what I said about Sutton. Maybe not today, tomorrow, or even a week from now. But one day, when the smoke clears…she will be mine. And when she is, I’ll never let her go again.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
Sutton
“Ladies, as you know, we’re less than two weeks out from the One Wish fundraiser and just three weeks away from your solo performances that will be held in front of the entire school.” She puts her glasses on, glancing at her phone. “Looking at the dates, we have so many things to do in a short time. So, what I’m thinking is, the dress rehearsal for the fundraiser will be at the auditorium, where the actual event is. Let’s utilize that space and arrive a few hours prior to the hockey players. This will give each of you time to practice your solo routine for the next event.” She giggles. “The one where you don’t have to worry about a massive hockey player landing on you and just worry about yourselves.”
Pulling her glasses off, she puts them on the top of her head. “Another thing, we’re going to be having some young ballerinas from a local studio joining us for the charity event. They’ll be performing first, and their dance instructor will be leading them through their dance. But I’m sure they’d sure love some attention from you all as well. So, please, during rehearsal and on the night of the event, make them feel special. And help keep their nerves at bay.”
She beams. “I am so excited!”
Finally, Jolene releases us from dance, and I gather up my things. I’m moping around like a toddler who didn’t get the toy she wanted when her parents took her to the store. I’m grumpy, and you’d swear I was PMSing even though I’m not.
“Are you catching a ride home with me?” Ryann says, changing her shoes. “We can swing into the diner and get milkshakes.”
I give her a weak smile and shake my head. “That’s okay. I think I’ll walk. I could use the fresh air. Besides, it’s nice out today.”
She gives me a look, telling me that she really wishes I’d just take the ride. But eventually, she shrugs. “If you say so. See you at home.”
I walk outside, letting the sunshine beat on my face, warming my soul. I’m thankful that I don’t have to work until the end of the week because, frankly, I’m just not feeling up to dancing at Peaches right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever love showing off my body to make a living, to be honest.
Hunter has reached out too many times to count. And I’ve come close to responding far too much. But at the end of the day, I feel myself falling for him—hell, part of me knows I’ve already fallen. I could let him in. I could jump in headfirst, not coming up for a single breath of air. But everyone knows that rebounds don’t last. And when he woke up, realizing that was all I was, I’d be left with a broken heart, a shitty set of lungs, and an estranged family. This is better. This is the closest thing to a solution that I can come up with.
A huge part of me knows that I’ve never really liked working at Peaches. I have nothing against Ryann or the other girls who do it, but for me, it feels unnatural. But now that Hunter voiced that I should quit and have him pay my way—as if it were that easy—I’m being stubborn, and I don’t want to quit. If I do, he’ll assume it was for him.
And I really hate that he is a part of the reason why I’m second-guessing my damn job.
I look around the campus as I walk along the sidewalk. No matter how grouchy I am, I really have grown to love this place. And I love Ryann and Lana too. Even Poppy hasn’t been all that terrible. And by not terrible, I mean, she ignores me, and I ignore her, and we pretend the other one doesn’t exist.
It’s great.
A loud truck zooming by makes me wonder what Hunter is doing and if he plans on practicing our routine. It will be tricky to practice alone, but it can be done.
It has to be done.
But eventually, we’ll need to see each other. And when we do…yikes.
Once I’m home and I fix myself a snack, I plunk my ass down on the couch next to Ryann.
She glances at my sliced apples with peanut butter and a Slim Jim. “The diner cheese fries and chocolate milkshakes would have beenmuchbetter than whatever you’ve concocted.”
“Probably.” I nod in agreement.
The door opens, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Poppy strolling in. Normally, if I were near, she’d take her ass to her room. Not today. Today, she takes a seat on the other couch.
“Hey, girl,” Ryann calls to her. “Where’d you go after dance?”
“Just had to run to a few places,” she says, not hiding the amusement in her voice.
I look at her nervously to find her actually, literally smiling. But instead of commenting on it like I want to, I turn my attention back to the television as Ryann flips through Netflix.
“You seem down, Sutton,” Poppy says smoothly. “What’s wrong? Sad that Hunter went back to Paige so soon?”
“What?” I mutter, narrowing my eyes at her. “What did you say?”
Holding her phone out, she shows me a picture of Hunter standing in front of Paige, her arms wrapped around him. “And if you don’t believe me, check the date.”
Glancing at the date and time, I see it was just taken a little while ago. My stomach turns, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. But I know what this comes down to. We have our solo performances in a few weeks, and it’s crunch time for that. She’s trying to get in my head.
